A top Republican on Wednesday said he expects the new conservative Congress to pass trade promotion authority sometime this spring, potentially allowing President Obama to take a major trans-Pacific trade pact past the finish line this year.

The limited exemption for exports, and possibly the 53-year-old embargo, may become a thing of the past if Obama gets his way. But ending the embargo would require congressional action, something that’s politically questionable.

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., lashed out at the Jones Act during a Friday panel at the Heritage Foundation, saying the 94-year-old maritime law is an anachronism that hurts U.S. farmers and manufacturers at the expense of foreign rivals.

The U.S. and India called for enhanced bilateral cooperation and laid out an aggressive plan to boost trade and investment following meetings in Washington between India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama.

The world’s largest container manufacturer, China International Marine Containers (CIMC), does not expect the U.S. government’s antidumping and countervailing duty investigation to be resolved before May next year.

A new program by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s integrates its two largest trusted trader programs — Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and Importer Self Assessment — and includes additional perks meant to offer tangible benefits in return for the effort that importers put in to participate.

WASHINGTON — U.S. manufacturers could lose a powerful resource that helps some of their foreign customers get loan guarantees they couldn’t secure in the private sector, which backers say allows many American exporters to stay globally competitive.